A GRIEVING mum has spoken of her heartache at losing her son in a car crash.

Leon Davies, 25, from West Bromwich, was killed when his friend's car smashed into a wall in Coalville, Leicestershire, last weekend.

The dad-of-one died from neck injuries in the horrific crash.

Now his devastated family have opened their hearts to the Sunday Mercury to pay tribute to the "lovable joker".

His mum, Karen Davies, 45, a community nurse from West Bromwich, said: "I was a single parent for many years and Leon was the man of the house really.

"I held down three jobs and he just did everything. He took his three sisters to school and nursery, I can't remember him ever wanting to do something for himself.

"He wasn't just my son, he was my friend. We all went out on the town together, and we were very close. It's such a big loss."

Leon was due to tie the knot with his 25 year-old fiancee Carmen Davis in 2010.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter Aeiron, who is struggling to come to terms with her dad's sudden death.

"Aeiron understands more than you'd think," said Carmen. "She is just angry and sad really."

Leon had been working in Leicestershire at his uncle's breakers yard to save up for the wedding and earn enough for the couple to buy their own home.

He was being trained to take over the successful family business when he was killed in the horrific crash in the early hours of last Saturday.

Leon was a passenger in his friend's car, when the BMW lost control on a speed hump and smashed into a wall.

Karen remembers her son's excitement at the prospect of building a new life for his young family after finally landing a job with good prospects.

"He was very dedicated because he could see it was a job that was going somewhere and my brother trusted him," she said.

"At school he wasn't necessarily the brightest in the class, but he never brought trouble to my door.

"He always worked hard and never claimed the dole in his life. When he was 14 he had a paper round and used to give what he could to help me and the family out.

"Then when he was 16 he decided he wanted to be a lawyer. He went off to college but after a while he realised that it wasn't the career for him.

"He floated around doing everything from warehouse work to security, but he always looked after his family. He was a real family man."

A huge fan of garage music, Leon enrolled in a course studying music production at the Custard Factory in Digbeth in 2000.

He met Carmen and settled down with her in Perry Barr, before starting a family of his own in 2005, when his daughter Aeiron was born.

A month before he died Leon had been partying on Broad Street to celebrate his sister Laurie's 21st birthday along with his mum and older sister Leigh-Ann, 27. He also leaves behind younger sister Leah, 14.

Karen says that the family will always remember him as a loving dad, brother, and son.

"He was a joker, a prankster, he just took the mickey out of everyone," she said.

"He was the sort of lad who would be cracking jokes at his own funeral. We all miss him so much."

Leon's funeral will take place on Friday August 22 at St Francis in Friar Park, Wednesday. A wake will be held in Smethwick at the Old Conrad Social Club. ..SUPL: